Navy Awards $105 Million Contract to General Dynamics NASSCO

The U.S. Navy tapped General Dynamics NASSCO to perform $105 million worth of work on the amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island. The ship, which returned from deployment May 15, will be in dry dock for about a year.

The Makin Island has a large flat deck and it resembles an aircraft carrier, though at 844 feet it is shorter than a Nimitz-class carrier. It serves a variety of aircraft that can land vertically, including older Harrier jets, Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft and new F-35B Lightning II jets. It also carries a U.S. Marine Corps detachment of 1,700 troops. The Makin Island is the last of the Wasp-class amphibious ships, and the only one to use gas turbine engines instead of steam turbines.

Work is expected to run through September 2018. The work package will include maintenance, modernization and repair. The Navy customer may exercise an option bringing the value of the contract to $106 million.

The Naval Sea Systems Command of Washington, D.C. awarded the contract, announced June 6. Two businesses bid on the work.

Shares of General Dynamics trade on the New York Stock Exchange as GD.